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February 27, 2012

Slow Roasted Chicken and Greasy Rice

I LOVE those rotisserie chickens you get in the deli. I could probably eat a small one all by myself. Don't judge me.

But I’m not about paying someone to cook a chicken for me so I set out to recreate the flavor and super moist texture. That's how I came up with 'Chicken Scratch' and this roasting method. I researched online for herbs and spices commonly found in rotisserie chickens and formulated a recipe that I now use on chicken every single time I cook it.

While roasting the chicken I realized that my method produced a ton of beautiful pan juices. We have a tradition here in the South of cooking rice with pan juices and rendered fat and calling it Greasy Rice. There ain’t nothing healthy about it so if you’re not comfy cooking it the traditional way, see the notes below for a healthier version.

Slow Roasted Chicken and Greasy Rice

1 large roasting chicken

2-3 tablespoons Chicken Scratch (below)

4-5 celery stalks

4 cups pan drippings & chicken broth

2 cups uncooked long grain rice

¾ teaspoon salt*

Season chicken liberally with Chicken Scratch. Place celery stalks in the bottom of a roasting pan. Place chicken on top of celery (these serve to keep the chicken off the bottom of the pan and impart flavor for the pan drippings). Cover roasting pan with a tight-fitting lid or cover tightly with aluminum foil. Bake at 250 degrees for 4 hours. Remove chicken and pour off all the pan juices; reserving liquid. Return the chicken uncovered to the oven and continue cooking for 2-3 more hours.

To prepare the Greasy Rice, pour pan drippings through a strainer into a 6-cup measuring pitcher. Add chicken stock (if necessary) until the liquid (not the fat – the fat will float on top of the broth) reaches 4 cups**. Pour contents into a 2-quart pan. Add salt and uncooked rice; bring to a boil. Cover tightly, reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low and continue cooking, covered, for 10 more minutes.

Cut chicken into individual pieces and serve with cooked rice.

*depending on how salty your broth is and how much of it you need to use, you may have to add more salt. Taste the broth after you’ve added the salt and before you’ve added the rice. You want it to be a little on the salty side so that there is enough salt to flavor the rice. If you need to add salt, feel free to substitute a chicken bullion cube.

**your pan drippings will include a lot of fat. It’s wicked good but also very unhealthy. If you’re not comfy using all the fat, skim some of it off but keep at least 4 tablespoons. It’s very important not to include the fat when measuring your liquid. Long grain rice needs an exact liquid to rice ratio of 2:1.

Chicken ScratchThis is a seasoning mix I came up with years ago that I use each and every time I cook chicken. For more recipes using Chicken Scratch, click here.
3 tablespoons salt
3 tablespoons paprika
3 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon white pepper
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper*
1 tablespoon onion powder

Mix all ingredients together and store in an airtight container. I keep mine in a large used spice container that still has its shaker top for easy use. Season chicken or other poultry LIBERALLY with mix (this is made with less than 25% salt so you can rock it out!)

I love this recipe!! My MIL makes greasy rice from ham drippings, so using chicken intrigued me. The chicken was moist and the rice was fantastic! My husband went crazy for the Chicken Scratch, so we now have a gallon sized jug of it. Thank you so much!

OMG Mandy made this for dinner the other night and it was great, even my husband who is not a chicken lover liked it. I really liked how easy it was and the greasy rice was perfect. Great food and will make it again without fearing my husband not liking it.

Looking for a good chicken and greasy rice recipe and this seems like the one. However, you say to cook the chicken for 4 hours and then uncover and cook an additional 2-3 hours. 6-7 HOURS for a chicken??

This looks delicious and can't wait to make it for a family dinner this weekend. However, you are wrong in saying that there is nothing healthy about this. Traditional cooking is extremely healthy. Eve the Mayo Clinic has come out recently saying that saturated fats (such as chicken fat) IS good for you. The body, especially the brain actually needs saturated fats. As long as you are getting your meats from a healthy source, such as a local farmer that is pasturing the chickens, and raising them in a healthy manner, this is a super healthy recipe.

Hi there! While I'm not able to respond to every comment, I try hard to answer any questions that haven't been addressed in the post, recipe or in other comments. And though I may not respond to them all, I do read each and every comment and I LOVE to hear from you guys! Thanks, y'all! - Mandy